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I lost access to a Google account almost a decade ago; trying to get it back was one massive Kafka trap. Every few years I go back and try navigating the Kafka

I lost access to a Google account almost a decade ago; trying to get it back was one massive Kafka trap. Every few years I go back and try navigating the Kafka trap again hoping against hope for better results. But I’m still locked out. It’s particularly frustrating because IMAP is setup for it into another google account, so I can still send and receive email from the address but I’m fully locked out of the service. Some precious files were in that account from childhood.

zero-sharp 2y ago
How did you lose the account? Was there a reason from Google?
- hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
  I once had a functional bug where a MFA recovery email would receive the token, but the system would flag any further steps as ‘suspicious activity’. I also had an active gmail session via thunderbird, so I could easily have proven my claims legitimacy if required. Alas, there is no concept of support at google.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- lou1306 2y ago
  I feel no reason short of a mandate from a judge is so good to allow Google (edit: or any other tech company, really) to completely lock someone out of their personal data. Give them a takeout link and send them on their way, at least.
  - nobody9999 2y ago
    >I feel no reason short of a mandate from a judge is so good to allow Google (edit: or any other tech company, really) to completely lock someone out of their personal data. Yes. It's a travesty. And those who work at those tech companies should be ashamed to be associated with such behavior. That said, if your data isn't hosted (even if just as a backup) on your hardware, it isn't your data. If someone else is hosting your data then it doesn't belong to you, unless you have a strong copyright claim, and the money to pay lawyers to litigate such a claim.
- zelphirkalt 2y ago
  I lost access to a YouTube account, which had my gaming videos, when they went all in on Google Plus. Somehow they messed it up and I couldn't get through the recovery process. I remember I was forced to change my password and then I could no longer log in. After that I decided I would never make a new YouTube channel again.
sunaookami 2y ago
Just create a Hacker News post and hope it goes viral and then some Google employees will unlock it for you ;)
- zelphirkalt 2y ago
  The official Google support channel: Social outrage in online communities. If you cannot generate it, you are not worthy enough of eing treated fairly, worm!
notRobot 2y ago
1. Pay for one.google.com using a secondary account 2. Add your former account to your family 3. Accept the Google One invite through IMAP 4. Contact Google One support from your secondary account Hope this helps

zero-sharp 2y ago

How did you lose the account? Was there a reason from Google?

hsbauauvhabzb 2y ago
I once had a functional bug where a MFA recovery email would receive the token, but the system would flag any further steps as ‘suspicious activity’. I also had an active gmail session via thunderbird, so I could easily have proven my claims legitimacy if required. Alas, there is no concept of support at google.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
lou1306 2y ago
I feel no reason short of a mandate from a judge is so good to allow Google (edit: or any other tech company, really) to completely lock someone out of their personal data. Give them a takeout link and send them on their way, at least.
- nobody9999 2y ago
  >I feel no reason short of a mandate from a judge is so good to allow Google (edit: or any other tech company, really) to completely lock someone out of their personal data. Yes. It's a travesty. And those who work at those tech companies should be ashamed to be associated with such behavior. That said, if your data isn't hosted (even if just as a backup) on your hardware, it isn't your data. If someone else is hosting your data then it doesn't belong to you, unless you have a strong copyright claim, and the money to pay lawyers to litigate such a claim.
zelphirkalt 2y ago
I lost access to a YouTube account, which had my gaming videos, when they went all in on Google Plus. Somehow they messed it up and I couldn't get through the recovery process. I remember I was forced to change my password and then I could no longer log in. After that I decided I would never make a new YouTube channel again.

sunaookami 2y ago

Just create a Hacker News post and hope it goes viral and then some Google employees will unlock it for you ;)

zelphirkalt 2y ago
The official Google support channel: Social outrage in online communities. If you cannot generate it, you are not worthy enough of eing treated fairly, worm!

notRobot 2y ago

1. Pay for one.google.com using a secondary account 2. Add your former account to your family 3. Accept the Google One invite through IMAP 4. Contact Google One support from your secondary account Hope this helps